


Persona 4: Teens of Denial and Truth

by Starkller919



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25534627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starkller919/pseuds/Starkller919
Summary: A re imaging of the events of Persona 4: Golden through the perspective of Kentaro, a former friend of Yosuke Hanamura. As he helps him in his journey to face the truth, that he's in love with Yu, a truth of the matter that Yosuke wishes to deny. And also a story about brotherhood between Kentaro and his brother Tatsuba. Rated T for language and some scenes of violence. Crossposted from fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji, Kujikawa Rise/Original Character(s), Shirogane Naoto/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, I’m essentially considering to ditch my last Persona 4 fanfic, and remaking a new fanfic from scratch with a new OC, this fanfiction will retain the old OCs from the previous fanfiction I made, so don’t be disappointed, Billie’s going to be playing a role of a side character now. This new fanfic will be more focused on the romantic basis of the relationship between Yu and Yosuke. Have fun. (Crossposted from fanfiction.net)

Lost Ones

April 9th, 2011 

“Huh… Where are we now? This isn’t Kansas anymore right? Where’s the yellow brick road?” I said tiredly. I shouldn’t had taken that Ibuprofen after that long ass flight from California to Japan, I’m tired as hell.

“No Ken-shito, we are a couple minutes away from Inaba, you’ve been asleep for 2 hours, meeting up with that Yosuke friend of yours or whatever. Probably wasn’t a good idea to take an Ibuprofen.” my big brother, Tatsuba Tachi said while driving. He’s… Well a brother to say the least, I’m too tired to really talk any shit about him, let’s just say we don’t have the best relationship. I’m from Salem, Massachusetts, you know that one city known for the witch trials in the 1600s? Well, they’re more known for their math rock scene, which I’m pretty big on. My mom decided it would be a good idea to go back to my roots and spend the rest of my high school years, and probably my college years in Japan. It just so happens I will be living out in this small town called Yasoinaba, the only thing I know about this town is that one of my old friends, Yosuke is currently living there. 

“Do you know anything about Inaba at all?” I asked my brother. 

“Well, I know one of my old friends from high school works at a inn… That’s about it.” He shrugged. 

“Well I hope this town isn’t a complete shithole.” 

“From what I can see, it looks boring as fuck, look at all of those long ass rice fields, you’re going to be living in a hellhole,”

“Fuck you asshole, you’re just judging a book by its’ cover,” 

“You are so funny when you’re angry lil bro!” He taunted. The car arrived at the driveway of the Hannamura residence. “Looks like our fun is over, time to unpack kid!”   
Yosuke popped out of the front door of the house, approached and gave me a handshake. 

“Hey Kentaro, you’ve finally made it, how was the trip?” Yosuke asked cheerfully. 

“Kinda meh, took a Ibuprofen after like a 11 hour trip from California to here... “ I sighed. 

“Should I help you and your brother with the bags?”

“Yeah sure, I also had to get some of my bigger stuff shipped in like two weeks advance. Mostly just percussion instruments and other stuff. Where’s your parents?” 

“My dad is working at a department store called Junes here, you’ve probably haven’t heard of it. It’s like a Japanese version of Walmart, my dad scored pretty big with a job offering down here like 6 months ago. And ever since life’s never been the same… As for my mom, she just went down to Okina City to buy a cake for you. I argued with her that we have cakes at Junes, but she argued that the bakeries in Okina are more authentic. Pretty sure my dad is willing you to offer a job at Junes, once you’re all settled into this town.”

“So you work at Junes? What’s it like?” 

“It’s the usual run of the mill department store, but with a bit less people, mainly cause it’s in the boonies.”

“Hey both of you assholes, can you please help me with this heavy luggage!” Tatsuba yelled at the both of us. Yosuke and I carried my luggage into what looked like the guest room. 

“This will be your room, my room is literally across from yours. There’s a bathroom next to the kitchen, and my parents’ room is upstairs. And the showers are at the end of this hallway.” Yosuke said. 

“Ah nice, you know what, I want a tour of the town, I need get myself moving right now. You feel me?” I said. 

“Dude, you just got here, and you want a tour of this town? You’re sure about this?” Yosuke groaned.   
“Why are you complaining? I’m the one who went on a 11 hour flight, if anything you should be delighted, I haven’t seen you since like what? Summer two years ago?”

“ I think it was three years ago, but fine. I’ll show you around this town, probably should take you to Junes first. They got some killer beef steak, and also have you meet the employees… Maybe.” Yosuke hesitated for a bit. 

“What’s with the hesitation? Something wrong with the employees?” I asked. 

“It’s nothing really, some of them like to make fun of me, being the manager’s son and all. Not to say that they hate me for it, don’t take that the wrong way. ” He shrugged.

We took a short walk towards the Junes department store, it does look like your run of the mill department store, difference here being that the food court is outside of the store. The smell of stir fry beef really helped with the artificial feel around the store. 

“Well, for first impressions, the meat smells nice, I like the feel of the logo. Contrast of yellows is nice, that’s all I have to say. It just feels a bit artificial in this town.” I critiqued. 

“... And that’s the main problem many of the locals have with Junes. Lot of the ma and pop shops closed down ever since Junes opened like six months ago,”

“Guess that’s what happens when a big company like Junes comes to a small town like this, it eats stuff up like this.” 

“Let’s just go into Junes, shall we?” I followed Yosuke into the front entrance of Junes, the interior is as expected for any department store, being greeted a small vendor of fruits inside, with a elevator. Kind of odd that a department store would have an elevator, but then again this is a pretty small ass town. 

“My dad’s currently managing the electronics section right now, be a good idea to greet him,” 

“Why is it that this store uses an elevator?” 

“Makes it more convenient for people to get stuff, also this store has literally everything.” Yosuke and I entered the elevator and went up to the Electronics department.   
“Ah hey Yosuke, what brings you back to Junes? Ah, I see that Kentaro-san has finally arrived in Yasoinaba, welcome to our humble town.” Mr. Hannamura introduced himself.

“Yeah, glad to see you again Mr. Hanamura-san, since like 3 years, how’s things?” I asked. 

“Business is blooming here at Junes, Yosuke’s been doing pretty well in this small town, and he’s been doing good work for this business! Isn’t that right Yosuke?” Mr. Hanamura happily asked.

“Yeah, Junes is a pretty fun place to work at, you should probably work here too, we need as much hands as we can for this store.” Yosuke said. 

“Most likely I’m going to work here, seems like a fun place to work at so far.” I smiled. 

“I think I’m going to just take Kentaro around the town, is there anything else you want me to do?” Yosuke asked his father. 

“Nah, just have fun with yourself, oh and about the cake Kentaro-san, you wouldn’t mind a taro flavored cake?” Mr. Hanamura asked. 

“Sounds good, see ya later!” I said as Yosuke and I exited into the Junes’ elevator. 

“Wanna go down to the Samegawa Flood Plain? That’s where we’ll usually walking school on.” Yosuke said. 

Samegawa Flood Plain was pretty… bland. Sure the scenary helped a lot with the flood plain, but it’s really not doing much for how small it is. There’s a road next to it… Which I assume leads to Yasogami High. 

“A bit underwhelmed by this scene, but what can I expect, it looks okay. Feels a bit small though.” I said, staring at the sun. 

“Dude, you probably shouldn’t stare at the sun too long, you might get blind. But yeah, it may be small, but I like how peaceful it is at night, sometimes I just like to vent here. I just wished… I can do something more with myself in this town. I just feel a bit worthless right now, sorry being so personal.” Yosuke solemnly said.  
“Doesn’t bother me at all, it’s always nice to vent once in a while.” I said, smiling.

“Well, it’s been literally three years since we spoke, so… How’s life?” 

“Life’s been doing fine for me, other than my brother being in college, I’m still single and ready to mingle. Uh, I’ve been getting myself more and more into music, bands like Xiu Xiu and I guess Animal Collective. What about you?” 

“I’ve been listening to Rise-chan, some other pop idols… What about anime? Any manga or new show you discovered?” Things between Yosuke and I got real awkward, guess that’s what you get when you don’t talk to each other for like three years. 

“I’ve been watching some old ass American sitcoms, Like Roseanne and Home Improvement. As for anime, I just finished watching Durarara and Full Metal Alchemist.” 

“Oh wow, I also watched those shows too, pretty enjoyable stuff. How’s life in America?” Yosuke asked. 

“Pretty samey samey, my mom is still teaching Japanese. My dad however… Disappeared three years ago. My brother still doesn’t know where he is now.” I sighed. 

“That must really suck, is that why you stopped visiting us?” 

“Pretty much, sorry for not explaining much earlier… Do you think we can actually become like ‘real’ friends again? Like the good ol’ days, when we were kids?” 

“I remember when we used to play those Featherman R toys, those times where we covered each other asses from the middle school kids. Shit…”

“God I miss this country so much, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back where I’m from, just the new experiences I get to encounter here. I hope we can rekindle our friendship from this day forward, no more running away. Let’s shake on it.” I reached my hand out for Yosuke, he gave me a firm handshake, a sign for things to cherish. 

“Most certainly, friend.” Yosuke smiled. 

Later that day, Yosuke and I returned back to his home. We were greeted by the smell of udon noodles. 

“Ah Yosuke-kun and Kentaro-kun, I see both of you are finally back. How was your trip from America? Your mother called by the way, she’s been talking about how you haven’t seen my Yosuke-kun for like three years!” Mrs. Hanamura exclaimed.

“Yeah, Yosuke and I caught up with a few things, it’s really been three years huh? Time flies by so fast, eh?” I said. 

“Yes, and I made the you boys some nice udon noddles to eat! The taro cake is in the kitchen. Heeheehee!” She chuckled in the most mischievous manner possible. I always forget how weird Yosuke’s mom is. 

Now the following dinner was pretty neat, though Mr.Hanamura is already asking me to apply for a position in Junes, working the same hours as Youske. And being me, I pretty much accepted the offer on the spot, maybe my sleep deprived ass made a wrong decision by being too hasty. Being said, Inaba at night looks so calm and peaceful, it really gives this very nice country vibe to it. 

“...Hey dude, it’s like past midnight, what’s preventing you from sleeping?” Yosuke tiredly said behind me while I was looking outside in the backyard.. 

“Woah, it’s just…This is just so weird that I’m actually living in the country, I know I sound weird, but for a while, I’ve always wanted to like be free from the city, just go into the country and do god knows what in there. What do you think we should do tomorrow?” 

“Dude… We got school in two days… Plus I was planning to introduce you to my other friends. Maybe in the summer we can do something fun.” Yosuke yawned.

“Define fun Yosuke.” 

“I dunno… Like going to the beach, hooking up with some girls, getting their numbers? You really think we can be friends again?” 

“Stop doubting yourself Yosuke, of course we can be friends.” 

“The view at night is darn pretty ain’t it? Seeing the moon above really makes me think this world is too small for any of us.” 

“I can see that point pretty well.”   
This year was in for a bumpy ride. I can just feel it inside of me.

_____________________________________________________________________

A new beginning, a new start for a more developed story than my last fanfic, hopefully I won’t fall into the pitfalls of dragging the days for way too long than it really should be intended to. Persona 4 and it’s Golden variant are games that aren’t too hyper focused on a single day, or hell even a single week. Which is probably going to be the reason why I’m going to just be putting in small short entries of days where I believe things don’t really happen. Review, comment, and share this story.


	2. Enter the 36 Meat Bowls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now introduced to Chie and Yukiko, their character is relatively the same for the most part. Hopefully later on their relationship with Kentaro will develop into something really fun.

Aw yeah, it’s finally time to reintroduce both Chie and Yukiko into the fray of the story. I’m going to try my best to rewrite them to be less gimmicky characters. Enjoy this story. 

Chapter 2: Enter the 36 Steak Bowl Chambers

April 10th, 2011

“What are we doing today Yosuke?” I asked him while eating breakfast.

“Probably going to Aiya’s for lunch, we’re going to meet Chie and Yukiko there. They got some kickass Chinese cuisine there that you’ll probably like.” Yosuke said. 

“Oh is it like dim sum? Or is it just normal Chinese restaurant food?” 

“They’re mostly known for their noodle bowls… omph… They got this special meat bowl challenge with a big ass bowl that you have to finish within 30 minutes… *chew* *chew*... Then you get a picture taken and it gets pinned onto a wall…” Yosuke said, stuffing bread in his mouth. 

“Dude, try not to eat with your mouth full…” I groaned. 

“You’ve been on my ass about this ever since we were kids, jeez!” 

“Well learn your darn manners mister, I may not be your mom, but you gotta put some respect on my name… By the way, those headphones, where’d you get them?” 

“Oh, these pairs are from Junes, lasts about a year, according to the box. Sound quality is great.” Yosuke started to fiddle with his headphones. 

We took a walk towards Aika’s, the main advantage of living in such a small ass town is that everything is in walking’s reach, Salem was about the same, but Inaba seems to be way smaller. Yosuke and I talked more in depth about our music tastes. 

“I’ve been getting more into the Fishmans more lately, let me tell you, they got a good vocal range. Oh and I guess I’m also getting more into the Beatles. Both Rubber Soul and Revolver are growing on me… What do you think of Rise by the way?” 

“Absolute nonsense, don’t care about her… Plus she’s got one of the most fake personalities in J-Pop. My opinion though.”  
“Sheesh, you always love to be so damn brutal with your opinions. Don’t judge me, but I love Rise and also Kanami. They are so cute!” Yosuke started to squeal a bit.

“Kanami too huh? God you’re a lost cause my friend, you even sound like a 80 year old for a bit. No shame on you though, power to you.” I chuckled. 

“I mean everyone has their own guilty pleasures, since Rise mostly appeals to girls. Though you can argue her sex appeal is designed for guys like me, and you.” 

“I never understood sex appeal for advertising, but that’s just how some people like to buy. Prostitution exists for a reason.” I scratched at the back of head, I just made things more uncomfortable didn’t I?

“Yeah… I’ll think about that, why do you always bring up some of the weirdest stuff to our conversations? I swear you lack any fundamental knowledge to even be talking about such ridiculous topics like this.” Yosuke shrugged. 

“You are talking to a former honors student y’know. Gosh I feel so pretentious just sayin’ that. It’s like I’m expected to know as much as my big brother did when he was my age.” Yeah, my brother just so happens to be a honors student, his technical skill in music of all instruments is unmatched. He can literally play any instruments at a highly advanced level, hell that’s probably the reason why he has a girlfriend. Like I have to play the second wheel in the family. My mom encourages me to be myself, but how can I be myself where people expect me to do as much effort as my brother?

“...Talking to your brother more would be a good solut- Hey, were you listening to anything I said?” Yosuke waved his hand in front of my face. 

“Oh shit. How long was I staring?” 

“10 seconds, man you’re so bad at this stuff. Get a grip on reality stupid.” Yosuke chuckled. 

We walked into what seemed to be Aika’s, being greeted by the smell of Chinese food, it was pretty nice. Salem had its fair share of Chinese restaurants, but most of them were ranging from average to absolute crap. At the bar, there was a tomboy wearing a light green jacket with yellow stripes and a girl wearing what seems to be her school uniform, a nice red outfit. 

“We made it Chie, how long were you guys waiting?” Yosuke asked the girl in green. 

“We just got here like five minutes ago. So is this the new guy you wanted introduce us to?” She asked. 

“Wow Yosuke, I didn’t know you were friends with Mario and Luigi? Anyways, I’m Kentaro Tachi, Yosuke’s old childhood friend.” I said in my weird deep voice, awkwardly taking a seat right next to Chie. Forced smile, my cheeks are probably way too high up. 

“Uh… I’m Chie Satonaka, and this is my best friend, Yukiko Amagi, her family owns the Amagi Inn, you’ve probably heard about it in the tour guide.” Chie said cheerfully. She seems like the kind of person who would be really into sports, that sports jacket she’s wearing probably has a long history of being drenched in sweat or something.

“Dude that joke didn’t even land that well.” Yosuke whispered to me. 

“Hi, I’m Yukiko, please to meet you… I’m going to become a manager at my inn someday. Uh… Am I supposed to say anything else?” nervously she said. 

“You know what, let’s just order something and eat, I’m not that big into small talk, uh, Yosuke, what is this place known for?” I asked, out of nowhere a girl with short blue hair wearing an apron popped out of the kitchen. 

“We’re known for our special meat bowls, we have the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge that people have been taking, if you win, you get a free shirt and a picture pinned up on the wall of this restaurant. Oh and the challenge is only available on rainy days only as our Rainy Day Special.” The blue haired girl said. 

“I’ve tried to challenge like twice already, I don’t recommend doing it, even for a gal like me who is a connoisseur in all things meat, except for fish.” Chie said.

“Yeah I’m not interested in food poisoning, uh how big is the Mega Beef Bowl Miss…” I asked. 

“Aika Nakamura, the bowl is about this big...” She posed her hands to scale the size of the bowl, and it seemed to be a literal giant’s meal. 

“That’s the size of the bowl? Jesus man, can we order now? This talk of meat is making me more hungry.” My stomach quietly rumbles a bit. Everyone was handed a menu from Aika, the menu depicted pictures of meat bowls with rice, eggs, meat, and sauteed onions.

1 hour later… 

The meat was really good, the ratio between the rice, eggs, sauteed onions and the occasional peppers mixed well with the meat. I ordered the beef bowl, the beef was pretty nice and salty. I give it a 9 out of 10

“Damn, that hit the spot just right....” I said as I patted my stomach and slouched on the chair. Next to me, I see that Chie is already finishing her 2nd beef bowl, either she’s got good metabolism to have such a nice body, or she’s some exercise nut. Yukiko on the other hand, was only halfway done with her bowl.

“It most certainly did, but the amount of cholesterol in this meat, which is why I only eat here like once every few weeks.” Yosuke commented. 

“Yeah, but the meat here is like so high in quality, unlike the meats at Junes. Their steaks are okay though” Chie said in a nonchalant manner. 

“That’s because that meat is mostly for fast food consumption, there’s a reason why those vendors at Junes sell that meat for cheap, and get it out fast.” Yosuke groaned. 

I took a look at Chie, and thought to myself, Her personality trait better not be just all meat meat meat. She seems to be the kind of person who can beat someone’s ass in 20 seconds. Better to keep the conversation friendly, or she might put my ass in the street street. Yosuke looks down trodden, bet he gets this kind of shit daily in a town like this. 

“So… I presume you really like meat?” I asked Chie. 

“Hell yeah I do! Meat is the essential element of life… Along with kung fu movies.” She smiled pridefully. 

“Okay… Bacon or sausage?” 

“Bacon obviously, duh!” I really tried really hard to stop my laughing. Just the way she said it like that. 

“Hell yeah Chie, bacon is superior to sausage, uh what about you, Yukiko?” I smiled at her. 

“I’m not really into either of them to be completely honest, besides, I need to focus on maintaining my weight.” I just stared at Yukiko blankly at her statement. Not because of what she said, but for how deadpan her reaction is, Yosuke’s friends are really that animated. Either that or Japanese teens are getting more and more weird. But I’m Japanese also, but I also lived in the states for almost 10 years, being surrounded by white people. My mom always talked about how weird Americans can be compared to Japanese people, but I digress. 

“Well as for me, I really like the taste of sausage, it’s a lot more diverse of what you make it out of, bacon just seems a bit basic.” Yosuke said. 

“Guess bacon wins, two against one Yosuke. You lost.” I smiled as Yosuke rolled his eyes at me. 

“You’re a pretty funny guy Kentaro, I think we’re going to be really great friends.” Chie said. 

“You’re an amusing guy, I just received a text from the inn about important business. It was very nice meeting you Kentaro-san.” Yukiko waved towards us, left money over the counter and left the restaurant. 

“See ya Yukiko!” Chie exclaimed. 

A little bit later, we left the restaurant. The three of us just stood in a awkward stance of silence for a minute until Chie started some small talk. 

“Do you have any Japanese friends in America?” She asked. The closest thing I had to a person of my ethnicity was this Korean senior named Jin. Dude is a wannabe gangster. And as for friends who can speak Japanese, this black kid named Bill can speak and write really coherent Japanese. 

“Not exactly, however, I am friends with a guy who was adopted by a Japanese couple, he left America a year ago to attend high school in Japan, and he’s black. Just to clear things up.” I said. 

“What school is he currently attending?” 

“Gekkoukan High School in Tatsumi Port Island. Big school in a big city.” 

“Ah, that school, our sports teams occasionally visit there for sporting events. Here in Inaba, our school is freakishly small compared to the one there, from what I’ve heard.” 

Damn, is she not in any sports club? Maybe she’s just a gym type of gal. 

“Are you in any sports clubs Chie?” I simply asked. 

“Nope, I usually train by myself, like in those kung fu movies. Speaking of which…” Chie turned to Yosuke. “... You better have my Trial of the Dragon to me by Monday.” She slightly growled.

“Yeah, I’ll try to find it later today. My room is still a bit of a mess, let alone I had to help Kentaro with his own room.” Yosuke groaned. 

The rest of the day was filled with idle chit chat about a lot of random stuff, mostly about Inaba, learning that there’s a fox that protects a shrine in the town was pretty cool. Learning that Chie owned a dog was a bit concerning, since I have minor allergies to dogs, it sometimes can lead to violent outbursts of pure sneezing. Which is why I take allergy medication to avert that problem. Yosuke and I went back home to eat leftover Junes food Yosuke’s dad brought home. I finished unpacking the rest of the various boxes I had laying around my room, including a signed Minor Threat poster from Ian Mackaye himself when he toured in Massachusetts in 2006.

“So what’s school like here?” I asked as I was watching TV in Yosuke’s room, my room was lacking a television. All the TVs in the Hanamura household looks like it was from Junes, in fact, most of the kitchen appliances looked like it was from Junes. 

“I’ll just say watch out for Mr. Morooka, he’s probably going to be your homeroom teacher, he doesn’t like any of the students here. We call him King Moron here. He’s also got this ugly front buck teeth.” Yosuke said in disgust. 

“Sounds like an oldhead to me. Gee I’m so excited for school.” I said sarcastically. 

“Let’s just hope that we’ll be in the same homeroom together.” He chuckled. “We can survive King Moron together.” 

April 11, 2011

I don’t want to bother with the details of how this day went, Yosuke’s dad introduced me to the employees of Junes, it was pretty nice meeting the employees. Then he took me to the town’s school, Yasogami High, a much smaller high school than the one I went previously. I was given my uniforms, and learned the sad, sad news that I was in Mr. Morooka’s homeroom, thankfully with Yosuke at least. That’s a plus, also this school surprisingly had a Chinese course that I was going to get enrolled in, since I took part of studying Chinese ever since I started high school, just as a fun study. Also learned another transfer student was joining our homeroom tomorrow. I would never know how much this guy would change everyone’s life on that fateful day… 

_____________________________________________________________________

That was Chapter 2 finally finished, finally school is over, I graduated with high hopes for me to get into college, so I’m spending some of my summer doing this fanfic. Like, review, and follow. And Chapter 3 will come out much sooner (I hope).


	3. Inaba Flag Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu's first day of school with Kentaro and the gang. Our party learns about the mysterious "Midnight Channel" that comes up when it rains at midnight.

Back in the fray with Chapter 3 of this fanfic, my biggest hope is that I will actually go through the effort of actually writing it. The Rise fanfic felt like I was wasting all my time and resources on the most irrelevant days possible, only coming to like the 8th chapter when something good happens. So I hope this story will not follow in suit just like that one. While we’re at it, let’s have a brief overview of Kentaro Tachi: 

DOB: September 9th, 1994

Height: 5’7 (170 cm)

Weight: 140 lbs (64 kg)

Physical appearance: Wavy long black hair that goes all the way down to the shoulders, makes him look like he belongs to a black metal band. Clean face surprisingly, and is told that his hair smells really nice.

Arcana: Temperance (XIV)

Social Stats:   
Sage- Intelligence (Lvl 5)  
Brave- Courage (Lvl 3)  
Touching - Expression (Lvl 4)  
Rock Solid- Diligence (Lvl 5)  
Motherly - Understanding (Lvl 4)  
________________________________________________________

Inaba Flag Blues

April 12, 2011

Had this really lucid dream of a Featherman character, specifically the red one eating my arm while Marvin Gaye was playing in the background, not realising it was my early alarm. 

“Bro you have a weird morning alarm, it’s time for school.” Yosuke said as he walked into my room, half awake face.

“I like me some Marvin Gaye, it’s nice and calming, it’s soothes me soul.” I said getting out of my bed. 

Yosuke and I ate our breakfast and got out of the house at precisely 7:30, Yosuke decided to ride his bike. 

“You wanna piggyback ride on my bike?” He offered. 

“Not really, you seem like the type of guy who doesn’t have a grip at balance. Also this uniform smells like it’s been bleached, I can smell a gym locker on this too.” I sniffed on the collar of my uniform, they really just gave me a hand-me down, I’ve been given enough hand-me downs from my brother already. Give me some slack. 

“Your loss, I guess. Just follow me to the school, come on!” He waved his hand in the direction of the school.

It wasn’t until five minutes later he would find himself in the trash near the school. 

“WO-WOAH!!!!!” He exclaimed before he made impact head first into a trash can. His bike was thrown aside on the road. People were just looking over at the crash as they passed by. 

“Cripes Yosuke, are you okay?” I asked, pulling his butt out of the trashcan. 

“My solar plexus, oh crap… “ Yosuke groaned, got up and inspected his backpack to see Chie’s copy of Trial of the Dragon was cracked. “I should’ve just walked to school, Chie’s going to kill me…” He moaned. 

“Dude, why’d you pedal your bike that fast?” 

“Well I’ve been saving up my money to buy myself a nice ass scooter, this bike used to be my dad’s. A Junes exclusive mountain bike.” Yosuke chuckled, and then sighed.

“What a great way to start school huh?” I said to myself. 

Yasogami High- Morning

So this new silver haired albino kid and I were introduced to Mr. Morooka’s class, and he looked exactly how Yosuke described him, ugly as hell. 

“Awright, shut your traps! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!” The ape looking teacher said, I can taste the salty saliva coming out of his mouth. He looks like he hasn’t gotten good sex in 30 years.

“First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow! Now I would hate that I’m wasting everyone’s precious time, but I got to introduce our two transfer students, both of these sad excuses of men got their butts thrown out of the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday’s trash. And these men are as much losers as they were there, so you girls better not get any idea of hitting on them at all. Now both of you introduce yourselves!” I swear I’m going to get herpes from the man’s saliva. And before I could introduce myself, the silver haired student ruined any chance of a good impression by saying, 

“Are you calling me a loser?” Guess it’s nice and straightforward, whole class gasped at his comment. Guess I have to double down on his comment.

“You got ugly looking teeth and I’ve been tasting your disgusting spit for the past minute Morooka-san.” I said deadpan. He looked pissed. 

“That’s it, both of you are on my shit list! Effective immediately, now this small humble town is far, far away from the perverts and assholes that lurk in your big city! Now, don’t even try thinking of taking advantage of the girls here, let alone abusing them! But what the hell do I even know… The old days are gone, and every time I turn my back, you kids grow up so dang fast. Looking at your phones on your faze-journals or your my-places…” King Moron doesn’t realise I have a crappy Motorola from like 2007, in my pocket, no way I can access any form of social media. Coincidentally enough, the only empty seats in the classroom were next to Yosuke and Chie, oddly in the same row. 

“Excuse me! Is it okay if Yu sits here?” Chie asked, pointing to the seat next her. 

“Wha? Yeah sure, Ya hear that? Your seat is right there, so siddown already!? As for Kentaro-san, sit next to Hanamura-san in the back. ” He demanded. So the transfer student and I sat down in their respective seats.

“Nice job getting onto his shitlist, but everyone in this school is on his shitlist at one point.” Yosuke whispered to me. 

“Just some tactless doubling down, if he’s going to say something like that, why the hell can I not sneak diss him? He already feels so drab and outdated.” I said, looking a bit at how eerily foggy it was outside the classroom.

“Aren’t most strict teachers old dinosaurs of a older generation?” Yosuke asked.

“Nah, my mom is an exception, depending how you define ‘older generation’. Old people are kinda half and half for me. Morooka is just a dinosaur waiting to be extinct.” I chuckled at myself. 

Yasogami High- Afternoon 

Classes were actually over, and the weather outside isn’t helping my case at all, looking at how yellow it was, and now learning that something big’s going on at school since all the teachers are all meeting up in the Faculty Office, shit is going down. A faint sound of sirens can be heard from outside, I went closer to the window to see in the view a couple of brightly colored police lights in the distance. 

“Hey Yosuke, do you know what’s going on? The fog’s color is really creeping me out.” I said a bit concerned. 

“Who knows for sure? Today is the day we get to work together at Junes for the first time.” Yosuke said nonchalantly.

“What about Chie’s movie?” 

“Aw crap, I need to figure out how to not to get my ass kicked.” 

“Does she kick good? Like real, real, good?” I snickered. 

“Ok stop, we are not going there with that.” Yosuke rolled his eyes, got out of his seat, and was preparing to leave.

“Well, here goes nothing… Here she comes.” He whispered to himself as he approached Chie who was with that Yu dude and Yukiko. 

“Uh, um, Miss Satonaka...? This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see... And... I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck! See ya! Thanks!” Yosuke tried to run off after handing Chie the DVD case, Chie tripped Yosuke onto the hard linoleum floor. His butt bent up on the floor as he groans.

“Critical hit to the nads... “ He moaned. 

“Didya really have to kick his ass that hard? It’s just a DVD.” I said.

“But it’s my Trial of the Dragon! It’s all completely cracked!” She cried. I rolled eyes and whistled in a sarcastic tone. 

“I think my nuts are really cracked… Thanks a lot Chie… “ Yosuke continued to groan. 

Yu just stood there awkwardly silent, he looks a bit closed off. 

“I-Is Yosuke going to fine there?” Yukiko said a bit concerned. 

“He’ll be fine Yukiko, let’s ditch him and go back home. Kentaro is there to help him.” Chie said before leaving with Yukiko and the Yu dude. 

“Man, the last time I saw you like this, it was over an ordeal of a freaking juice box!” I laughed at myself, pulling Yosuke off the ground. 

“Man, this would’ve never happened if I had a scooter. Yo, if we have the spare time, do you want to get our scooter license together?” Yosuke said. 

“We’ll see, it was just 3 months ago that I just obtained my driver’s license in the US. but I don’t think I need a car for such a small town like Inaba though, so sure.” I smirked. 

Junes Department Store - After School 

The first day of Junes, it was a pretty riveting experience, it had this weird mix of feeling so American, yet so Asian by aesthetics. I was given the task of organizing the canned foods with Yosuke, who was teaching me how to handle stuff. 

“Just realised that Saki-senpai isn’t here to work today, strange.” He said to himself.

“Who’s she?” I asked

“Just a crush I have who works here, her family owns the liquor store down the street.” He blushed. 

“You, Yosuke Hanamura, is trying to find love in this world, how cute.” I snickered slightly. 

“I was hoping you could give me pointers about how I can interact with Saki, ya see, I want to take her out to the movies in Okina later this week. You got any advice?” 

Please don’t say anything stupid Kentaro, please don’t say anything stupid, you lack the credentials for any rommantic ordeals.

“Don’t do any of that corny stuff those guys do in rom coms at all, also try to avoid staring… I guess.” I shrugged a bit. When love is in the air, I’m the last guy to ask for guidance. 

“Such facetious advice man, have you ever fallen in love at all?”

“That’s a secret I can’t tell you bro.” 

“Gosh, someone died near here, and we’re here talking about romance. The amount of weird is absurd. Do you know anything about that Miss Yamano lady?”

“A soul gone way too soon. It sucks how she died, other than that, I don’t know anything about her and her relationship with that council man.” I sighed, wiping down the shelves of the canned foods aisle. 

“Let’s uh lighten up the tone. Guh, Rise dropped a new single today, I uh really mess with it. It’s called, ‘Girls, Girls’. I like the synth layers to the song, and Rise is so cute in the music video. The dance choreography is fantastic.” 

“I get it already dude, I’ll listen to it. I forgot to mention how big my mom is into Rise, I should’ve told you that when we were first talking about her.”

“At least we’re getting some progress here. Been playing any cool video games? I’ve been playing a lotta fighting games like Tekken.”

“Ah, I’m more of a Melee guy myself, right now I’m mostly playing Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. Post modernism am I right? What’s the whole thing about memes? Only memes I see are the ones past down from generation to generation. Sometimes the concept of these games kinda make me feel down at some points ironically. It’s just a game y’know?” 

“Right, right…” Yosuke nodded. “How’s your brother doing?”

“He’s, well doing fine. Him and his girlfriend Akko have been living on their own in Saitama. I think he’s going to become a teacher like my mom? Their lives are great. Despite some gripes I have with him sometimes being a condescending asswipe. It’s all good in the neighborhood.” I said.

“Gotta ask, where were you in those last three years?” He asked. I probably should simply lie to him, I don’t want to talk about what happened to my dad. It’s something I just keep in the back of my head.

“...Just prepping for high school, my mom wanted to make sure I was at the top of my game and all.” Slightly tilting my head towards putting away more cans on the top shelf.   
“Ah, that sounds normal for your standards.” Yosuke slightly mumbled. 

“So… Uh Saki-san, what is she like? Is she cute?” I asked, Yosuke expression changed drastically, cheeks painted pink. 

“She’s cute and all, being a year older than me, and being the daughter of a failing family owned liquor store. I feel bad for her family…” 

“Because of the integration of Junes, the entirety of Ma and Pa shops are closing down because of the capitalism big supermarkets of today? Makes me think of the Great Recession back in 2008.” I interrupted. 

“Yeah, basically that. She’s probably just helping her family out right now, so I shouldn’t really worry.” Yosuke awkwardly smiled. 

“Do you mind if you share a pic of her for me?” I asked.

“What, you’re going to walk up to her and ask for her digits? Sure thing bro.” Yosuke whipped out his phone and it took only a few seconds of him to find a picture of Saki. 

“She looks cute doesn’t she?” He winked. 

“6 out of 10, mostly for looks, but my mom always says that true beauty lies in their personality.” I said in the most contrarian way as Yosuke rolled his eyes at me. 

“Stop with that bull bro, you gotta be joking with me!” Yosuke said, a bit confused. 

“You asked for my opinion, and I gave you my opinion, I’m not saying you have trash taste at all.” I sneered. You could’ve picked someone better though. 

“Alright, what about Rise? I think she’s a 10 out of 10!” He retorted.

“Six.” I simply said, that got Yosuke more passionate about the topic. 

“Aw come on! Not even her sexy looks faze you? Her nice assets, those thighs, and that cute look on her face!” He squealed. 

“I told you Youske, looks aren’t exactly everything, in fact for Rise, it kind of creeps me out how sexualized she is, she’s like almost our age? Remember?” I said. 

“Good point, but we should probably be more faster with organizing these cans, they aren’t going to organize themselves!” Yosuke chuckled. 

First day at Junes was not bad at all. It feels great connecting with Yosuke again. Also got a text from my mom that night, was wondering how my first day of school was like, stuff at home seems normal. 

April 13th, 2011

Once again, Yosuke crashes into the garbage can again, what bad luck does he have to be like this? Oddly enough, the Yu kid came to help me pull Yosuke out of the trash can. 

“Thanks a lot to the both of you from pulling me out of that mess.” Yosuke blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Oh, I haven’t introduced myself to the other new guy, I’m Yosuke Hanamura.”

“And I’m Kentaro Tachi. But you already learned that yesterday. But pleasure doing business with you.” 

“Yu Narukami, you both know that by now, heh .Just wondering, is your bike okay?” Yu said, a bit deadpan. 

“Yeah the bike’s okay I guess....” Yosuke rubbed the back of his head. 

As we walked to school, we encountered a wild Chie right at the corner of the street.

“Yo, Yosuke! I got the perfect idea for you to pay me back for my Trial of the Dragon. You can treat me and the new guy to some nice juicy steak!” Chie winked at us and just disappeared. Yosuke softly groaned in agreement to her deal.

“At this rate, I’ll never have the funds to get a scooter…” He murmured. 

“Don’t pout about it bro. So Yu, you know about the dead announcer lady on TV yesterday?” I said.

“Yeah and they found the announcer lady hanging dead on a antenna. Oh yeah, about the steak thing, our town’s known for that stuff. Like it’s stuff you can’t get anywhere else, freaking steak!” He exclaimed.

“You don’t need to treat me Yosuke, I can buy my own food.” I said.

“That’s a relief, I guess. But I seriously have to treat to two people today?” He moaned. 

“It’s admirable that you’re willing to even treat me out like this. Thanks a lot Yosuke.” Yu softly smiled at him. 

“It’s just that you’re like the other new kid at school, believe me when I say that I had to go through the same ordeal when my family moved here six months ago. My dad manages the Junes here.” Yosuke said. 

“My parents are currently out doing business across this country, so I’m living with my uncle and cousin down here. What’s your story Kentaro?” Yu said.

“My mom offered me to transfer to this school here cause my friend Yosuke lived here. So I traveled from America all the way to this humble town. In a way to reconnect myself to this country.” I said. 

“So you came here from America? That’s pretty cool, I visited there once over the summer when my parents had business there.” Yu said. 

We walked to school, making some more small talk about ourselves, nothing out of the ordinary. 

Yasogami High- Morning 

“You guys ARE in high school, aren’t you!? Can’t you shut up during class? Don’t you have any common sense? First of all, my job is to waste my precious time teaching you assholes philosophy! And since I’m so nice... I’ll straighten up your rotten attitudes while I’m at it! Aren’t you honored!? And I’ll be going especially hard on any of you morons that’re curious about the murder! Got it!? Now, get your books out!” King Moron barked. He’s so cliched when it comes to being a mean teacher in general, and I find that mildly amusing. We read about Confucius, how nice.

The rest of the morning included a slow recap of Chinese phonics and sentences, calculus and the rest. 

Yasogami High- After School

“Steak, steak, steak!!” Chie exclaimed towards Yosuke, fist pumping up and down.

“Is Yukiko going to join us for this again?” I asked Chie.

“Nope! She doesn’t want to get fat apparently, also she has to help her family at the inn later today.” Chie explained. 

“Well at least you don’t got to pay for another mouth, right Yosuke?” Yu said.

“Better than something I guess.” Yosuke scoffed. 

Junes Department Store - After School 

“So THIS was the cheap place you were talking about? They don’t have them juicy steaks!” Chie complained. 

“I’m a bit short on cash, and once you got onto the freeloader train, this is the best I can do.” Yosuke said.

“These takoyaki are kinda bland, it’s like I’m chewing on a sponge. But they’re cheap I guess.” I shrugged. 

“Better than nothing, I’m having mine for free.” Chie said, chewing and swallowing a takoyaki whole.

“Anyways Yu, welcome to this beautiful town, here’s to you for that.” Yosuke said. 

The conversation led to some more small talk, jeez it can get awkwards with these. 

“A lot of ma and pa shops closed down ever since Junes opened. Kinda didn’t bother with those ma and pa shops after Junes opened.” Chie said.

“Ah capitalism, the epitome of pain and fortune…” I said before getting interrupted by Yosuke. 

“Hey look, it’s Saki-senpai!” Yosuke happily exclaimed, his grin grew ten times as wide as it would normally be. He’s head over heels over her. Wow.

“Is she Yosuke’s girlfriend?” Yu asked. 

“No, but he wishes her to be!” Chie chuckled. 

“Can you two please just be quiet? I just don’t want to miss my shot.” Yosuke whispered. Yosuke walked towards Saki-san, who was only a few meters away. 

“That’s Saki Konishi, her family runs the liquor store down the street… I think she’s just working part time here though.” Chie explained.

“Hey Hana-chan! I’m finally on break… Did you bring your friends here to boost your family business?” Saki-san asked. She still doesn’t know I now work here. 

“That aside… You weren’t at work yesterday, did something happen in particular?” Yosuke asked. 

“Nothing much… Just a bit tired and all.” She chuckles and approaches us as she sighs. “Thanks though…. Hey… are you that guy who transferred from America?” She asked me. 

“Yep.” I simply responded as she continued. 

“... Oh and the other transfer student, I bet the both of you already heard of from Hana-chan already. Must be nice to have someone familiar and someone from the big city to talk to huh? I don’t usually see him hang around with other guys that much… As for the new guy Yosuke hasn’t been previously acquainted with, I hope you can get along with Hana-chan well, he doesn’t have that much friends here. He’s a good guy, it’s just that he can get a bit nosy sometimes. You gotta tell it straight to his face when he’s doing that.” 

“He’s been doing fine so far, to be honest. He’s pretty nice.” Yu said. 

“I’m just kidding… Well my break’s about over, back to work for me…” She slightly chuckled and reentered back into Junes. 

“She seems a bit, uh shallow?” I said a bit confused at my impression of her. 

“Just lay it off of me, she just likes to say stuff like that, but she’s the one who’s so nosy.” Yosuke said. 

“You don’t want Saki treating you like a brother huh? Haha, I get it... So that’s how it is... The daughter of a local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain…” Chie started to laugh. Man does she sound cute. “Mwah-ho-ho-ho!! The heat of forbidden love! Ah- Speaking of which, have you guys heard of the Midnight Channel? Supposedly, you can find your soulmate exactly on midnight when it rains! You just got to turn off the TV, and bam! Magic!” She exclaimed

“Man Chie, you like to believe the most childish of urban legends.” Yosuke complained. 

“Even adults believe in silly legends like Bigfoot existing in California. Also I think it’s raining tonight.” I said, superstitions like this are really fun. Sure it’s all mostly bullcrap conspiracies in the end, but it’s fun to theorize. 

“Calling me childish? Hmph! Let’s find out tonight, since it’s raining tonight!” Chie exclaimed. 

“Gee, I cannot remember a time you have said something this stupid… Wonder if the culprit is still lurking around? Heehee… “ Yosuke squealed. 

“Let’s all try it out tonight, it sounds pretty fun to me. Let’s see what happens tomorrow…” Yu said with a bit of a mischievous grin. 

Hanamura Residence- Night

As I finishing my dinner, I randomly got a text from Billy. What is he doing in Tatsumi Port Island right now?

________________________________________________________________  
Billy: I’m going to be the next Billy Idol

Kentaro: K what?

Billy: I’m considering rebranding myself, y’know after settling here in this country last year. I got my lucky break doing some small modeling jobs lol

Kentaro: U never mentioned about that

Billy: No more Billy Robinson, I’m Billy Ito now biatch!

Kentaro: K, why did ya text me this late? 

Billy: Forgot to mention, welcome back to Japan! I’m probs gonna consider leaving Gekkoukan High later this year, how’s your high school in Inaba?

Kentaro: Just let me settle into this school dummy

Billy: Are you still using that cruddy flip phone?

Kentaro: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  
Also Yosuke says hi to u.

Billy: Cool, I gotta go to bed, important stuff for me to do tomorrow

Kentaro: See ya.

_____________________________________________________________________

“Who were you texting to?” Yosuke asked. 

“Billy. Just talking about some dumb stuff.” I said. I then looked at the news on TV, looks like they’re interviewing a student from our school who found the body. 

“Huh, that girl looks familiar.” Yosuke commented.

“Well, she does go to our school, if that’s anything to go by. Looks like they’re hiding her voice also.” I said. The commentator complained about how mysterious the death was and how allocated police funds who can’t figure out the basis of the crime. Let alone this isn’t good for the businesses nearby. Then a commercial for Junes started playing.

“ At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day’s great at your Junes!” the ad sang. Man that jingle can get stuck in your head.

“Man, why can’t supermarkets in America have something that catchy?” I complained. 

“Beats me, some of the younger kids love it though. That’s Junes for you. So, do you want to do the Midnight Channel thing?” Yosuke asked. 

“Why the hell not?” I shrugged. 

Midnight

“I don’t see anything yet Yosuke.” I whispered to him.

“Patience bro, it’s only a minute before midnight strikes.” Yosuke said. 

A minute passes… 

Before us there was this static mustard colored scenery before us, what we saw before us was unbelievable that it is actually real. There was a girl in a Yasogami High outfit, looking lost.

“Is that Saki…?” Yosuke murmured. 

________________________________________________________________

And that was Chapter 3 completed. I felt like I would’ve not finished this chapter like ever. I’ve been preoccupied with watching Toradora, City of God etc. I also recently bought Metal Gear Solid 5 on Steam. And I’ve been having a blast playing that a lot. And with this fic, I’ve been literally crafting possible stories in my head for Kentaro to face in the very distant future. Kudos, comments and follows are much appreciated. Thank you for your patience.


End file.
